The Ballerina in the Fire: The Untold Death of Aurora
They said she was cursed to sleep. They never mentioned she burned.
In 1899 Paris, a young dancer named Aurore Duval became famous for her performance La Belle Endormie — “The Sleeping Beauty.” On closing night, her silk gown caught fire from the stage lamps. The flames were seen curling around her like a crown before she collapsed.
But the investigation revealed something stranger: her body was barely burned, and witnesses claimed her eyes opened mid-performance, glowing faintly blue.
After her death, other dancers reported seeing her reflection rehearsing alone in the mirrors — twirling endlessly. When the opera house was restored in 1991, workers uncovered a charred section of floorboards. Beneath them: a perfectly preserved satin slipper, warm to the touch.
Engraved inside: “Wake me when it’s over.”
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from GoldenSpeech and writers in Chapters and other communities.
The Moon Princess: The Secret Life of Rapunzel’s Real Sister
In 1781, astronomer Johann Schröter documented something strange: a flicker of light on the moon that pulsed like a heartbeat. His journal, found centuries later, described a woman’s silhouette visible through his telescope — “a figure brushing her hair in silver light.”
By GoldenSpeech3 months ago in Chapters
Fair Exchange, No Robberies
Dark Memoirs - Index There are at least two kinds of people in the world: those who write this half-arsed kind of intro to a story that looks to separate the rare and the norm, and those who realise it's an overused framing device and don't.
By Paul Stewart14 days ago in Chapters
Is Living For Your Hobbies A Good Thing
When we live life do we do so for our hobbies or do we just live life to live life. Living life for your hobbies is a good thing but how can we live life for the hobbies that we have? Is it just doing the hobbies that we enjoy. Is it to make our lives the way we want to with doing the hobbies that make life the best it is for us. The more we put our hobbies and life together the more we will be living life for the hobbies that we have, and yes living for your hobbies is a good thing because, you get so much more out of life when you put your hobbies into your life. Reading, writing, blogging, re-organizing things. Just live life the way that works for you. Figure out what hobbies work for you and you will have so much more happening in life as you figure out how to put your life and hobbies together. The more you put your hobbies and life together the more you will be living for the two things and the better you will feel if you try to do this.
By Louise Barraco7 days ago in Chapters
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.